


Oblivious

by Redska



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Oblivious Nozo, Overly Attached Maki, Protective Nico, Sexually Frustrated Eli
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2018-10-13 14:05:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10515267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redska/pseuds/Redska
Summary: In which Nozomi isn't nearly as perceptive as she likes to think, Eli isn't as clever as she was led to believe and everyone else is having the time of their lives. Except Umi. You poor girl.





	1. Eli regrets and Maki rejects.

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this a bit ago on FF and decided to do it here too. Standard Disclaimers apply.

* * *

"Nozomi! Let's-!" Eli began but choked on her words when she realized what she was saying. She started backpedaling but it was too late. "Hm? Let's what?" The two of them were having a date in the confines of Eli's house while Alisa stayed the night at Honoka's. At Eli's request.

She'd been trying to create the right sexual environment for the two of them to take the next step for weeks now but to her eternal surprise, Nozomi, _Nozomi_ of all people, hadn't caught on. Even this situation, where basically every Ayase was out except for the eldest daughter and the lights were dimmed despite the said daughter's fear of the dark, and her insistence at keeping bodily contact the whole while didn't tip the usually cunning girl off.

Finally unable to deal with her sexual frustration, Eli was just gonna come out and say it. Nozomi wouldn't hate her for it, she was sure but it was much harder than she thought.

The innocently satisfied happy look on her girlfriend's face wasn't helping much either.

She was going to give up when her lover gently forced her to look at her with her hand. "Elicchi. Please tell me what you want. I can't make you happy if you don't tell me what'll do that. And I want to. I want to make you happy." The kansai dialect had left her voice as she desperately tried to get Eli to open up.

It was super effective.

"Let's sleep together!" She cried but knew it was no use when for a fraction of a second, a confused look came on her girlfriend's face. The one that always appears when she misinterprets her words.

"Of course! Not that I would ever not take the chance to sleep together with my cute Elichika but for some reason it got real dark in here despite the lights. I was worried the whole time y'know? I hate when my beautiful girlfriend is scared." Her best friend continues and Eli mentally berated herself for her failed attempts at making things romantic. She'd just been worried. _**Ugh.**_

Whatever. She got to sleep with her Non-tan pillow and her title as girlfriend meant she could snuggle as much as she wanted without making it weird. She even got a goodnight kiss. _Harasho._

* * *

"...her denseness is really cute. Y'know. Gap moe and all that. But really. I was _all over_ her in bed and she just giggled and called me a cute clingy child." Eli explained to her fellow members in Muse but was now starting to reconsider.

While Kotori seemed into it to almost weird levels, her childhood friend definitely was _not._ Umi looked at Eli with something akin to betrayal and the former student council president could see her reevaluating Nozomi to be lower than Eli in her mental _Shameless_ list.

Hanayo was just as interested as Kotori but she was definitely too embarrassed to help. Eli never expected Rin or Honoka to help but was let down by the mature Maki who seemed to have developed some kind of strange attachment to Nozomi and it was clear that she didn't approve of Eli's intentions towards her. Kind of like a jealous child who didn't want her mother to remarry.

Her last hope was her fellow graduate and friend Nico and that hope was dashed when she saw her sadistic, smug grin.

"Do you have _any_ idea how long I've watched the two of you drape yourselves over each other? When you two made it official I just resigned myself to walking in on passionate lovemaking whenever I visit either of you. This. _This._ Is just perfect." The diminutive girl said and chuckled cruelly at the dark look Eli cast at her. If Eli ever resolved her situation, she'd be sure to invite herself over to Nico's and make love to Nozomi on every piece of furniture she owned.

"Maybe she doesn't really like you. You're her best friend and she doesn't really know any boys. Maybe she's straight." Honoka tries and unknowingly drives a stake of insecurities into Eli's heart which Hanayo recognizes and panics trying to fix it but surprisingly Nico defends her.

"C'mon, Honk. Do you really think _anyone_ who's met Nozomi really thinks she's _straight?_ She's Bi at the very least. And that's a maybe. A heavy maybe."

As Umi tried to stifle Honoka's dark mumbling ' _What the fuck did you just call me?!'_ by following up with "That doesn't write out men though. Maybe we can introduce her to someone. I know of many places to find respectable gentlemen." "Why the hell would you know that?" Maki asked, freaked out. Kotori had tears in her eyes. "Umi-chan..You're not gay?" Honoka looked shocked, even betrayed. "Er." She began to defend herself when Eli cut back in.

"We're getting off topic. Look. We're not considering other people for Nozomi! She's mine, alright? We have to-" "Do absolutely nothing. Who says she's yours, huh? If she doesn't want you, that's perfectly fine. _I'll_ find her the perfect match once she bores of you. Who knows? Maybe she already _has._ " Maki bit back, pissing Eli off but she couldn't do anything. She would definitely tattle to Nozomi and that'll be the end of _that._

"Look, this isn't working. Let's just split up do different things. Kotori. What do you want to do?" Umi tries, set on running away after doing this much. Possibly give Nozomi a cryptic warning. She'd understand. Lilly Whites look after their own.

"Well. _Umi. We're_ going to help Eli get to the bottom of this and get her laid. Us and Honoka." The girl said, recognizing her _runawayrunrunrunrun_ posture. _Bollocks._

Honoka however wasn't cowed. " _Actually,_ Kotori-chan. I'm not interested in barking up a dead horse." ' _What the fu-'_ Nico mouthed. "I think we'd be more successful finding what Mom- I mean Nozomom- I mean _Nozomi_ wants the most."

Eli groaned. First Maki and now Honoka? Who _else_ is this attached to her girlfriend? _SO_ _not harasho._

"I'm with Honoka on this one. If you idiots start stirring up a shit storm like you're bound to, all it's gonna do is worry Nozomi sick. If you guys get into trouble and she finds out the cause, _which she will,_ that witch can damn near _sense_ it, she'd end up feeling horrible and start fixing up everything anyway." Nico growled.

She spoke from experience. That was pretty much the status quo around here. Someone tries some good intentioned crap and if it doesn't work it'll be absolute _hell._ Then someone has to clean it up. Usually the third years.

That much was fine. She learned to live with it. But if it involved the most self-depreciative girl in the group... Nico couldn't exactly let that happen in good conscience.

"So while you guys do your thing, I'll hang around Nozomi so she doesn't get hurt." She finishes and immediately left the room for the shrine. She'll invite the part time shrine maiden over. Her siblings would love it and Nozomi hated being alone anyway.

Eli was starting to get second thoughts about this. Nico might've seemed like she was just ditching them cause she couldn't be bothered but the half Russian knew that Nozomi was important to her too. Maybe she had a point.

But it was too late. Everyone else was excited and when they got going it was impossible to stop. Even Umi was raring to go. Granted it was to go far far away from them as possible but still.

Luckily for the blue haired girl, or unluckily if you saw it that way, Honoka stole her out of the room when Kotori wasn't looking and made a swift exit with Maki. Probably going to her house. Or Maki's if they wanted to get some work done instead of stuffing themselves with sweets.

Hanayo joined Kotori with surprising initiative and they both dragged Eli away to Eli's place. Hopefully Alisa's presence would mean they would keep the plans PG.

Rin remained where she was, stunned by the course of events. She never realized how bat shit insane her friends could be. Even Kayo-chin!

Shrugging, she decided to wait till tomorrow and _ask_ Nozomi about her feelings for Eli. She didn't think she was smart enough for complex plans so she went with what made the most sense to her, not realizing she had the most sensible plan of all.


	2. The Storm before the even bigger Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are gonna happen, and a new threat appears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already had this chapter ready by the time I published this over here so.. Surprise! Two chapters in One!

* * *

While Rin did the reasonable thing and waited, one of the only other reasonable people left, Umi, was fearing for her life. While she was glad to be out of Kotori's clutches, Maki was being just as scary about this and Honoka brainstorming was just frightening in general.

"You said you knew pickup spots. Tell us where. We'll scout it out and I'll see for myself how 'respectable' they are. Then I'll bring Nozomi there and leave her there once I see a good enough guy." She ordered sternly. Umi was silently impressed. Where was this dedication and initiative during practice? "If I don't like him, which is more likely than not, I'll send Umi in and fish her out to be 'found' by me again. Then we'll move onto to the next suitable suitor."

"Ha ha. Alliteration is funny." Honoka chuckled absently. This wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she was talking about what Nozomom wanted. None of that dating and kissing stuff. Muse's illustrious leader was thinking more along the lines of _fun_ activities. Like eating. Or sleeping. Or taking a nap after a huge meal. Honoka was a girl of simple desires.

"Honoka will attract a crowd. We'll pick Nozomi's suitors from there." Maki continued seriously, ignoring her leader. Honoka was confused. As per usual. "Er. How am I supposed to attract a crowd?" "Act natural." Umi deadpanned.

"Alright. That's a decent enough plan. It won't put Nozomi at risk. But are we just going to keep that up all day? Even if it wasn't Nozomi we were dealing with, even Honoka would notice the pattern." She asked. She didn't particularly like this but the look on Maki's eyes meant she was going to follow through no matter what. Might as well make sure it would work before trying to run away.

Maki dropped four files on her coffee table, labelled and colour coded. "Depending on the situation, we'll use one of these backups." Oh great. This wasn't spur of the moment. The redhead was _planning_ for this, Umi thought gravely. "We leave for your destination first thing tomorrow. We'll begin profiling candidates immediately." Honoka groaned audibly while Umi reached for her phone.

If she doesn't make it out of here, she has to let her family know she loved them. And that Maki did it.

* * *

Everyone honestly thought that Alisa was a pure young girl on par with Umi. Or simply naive. Nozomi-nee knew better and supported her less than savoury interests as only an irresponsible adult could.

Even before the older girl established her relationship with Alisa's older sister, they'd been discussing her sexuality and helped her feel secure about it. It wasn't something she could bring up with her sister and she never had to say a word to Nozomi for her to understand. She could always open up to the purple haired girl about these things. It helped that she was the gayest person she'd ever met and the most secure about it.

So when she was told to go to her room because her sister and her friends were going to talk about _adult_ things, Alisa took no offense, rolled her eyes and did so, getting comfortable in her bed with a dirty magazine courtesy of Nozomi.

She didn't really care about what adult-but-not-really things her sister was all panicky about but when they started talking about it, it was a little hard _not_ hearing.

She'd expected a conversation between her responsible sister and her two most reserved friends to be on the silent side but it was instead uncharacteristically enthusiastic. And by enthusiastic she meant she could hear it through the floor.

"I'm _NOT_ going to push her down! What's wrong with you?! I want to get into her bed not jail!" Alisa heard her sister cry and her attention was immediately caught.

Swiftly and quietly like Nozomi-nee taught her, the quarter Russian crept out of her room and into the kitchen adjacent to the living room. Settling down with a sandwich because why not, she eagerly but casually eavesdropped on the unsubtle trio.

"-won't go for it cause she's not a crazy person. She's got common sense which is more than I can say for any of you." She heard her normally calm sister bluster. "No need to be hurtful, Eli-chan. We're on your side. The side of romance!" Kotori replied completely unaffected. Hanayo continued, calmer than the rest with a softer voice. "But you're right. She's really smart. If you try coming on to her too aggressively she'll pick up on it before you get your chance. And she might turn you down." "Or run." Kotori added unnecessarily. Alisa could _feel_ the glare her sister was throwing at the bird girl. "You're actually on Maki's side in this aren't you?"

Now _this_ was good info. Nozomi-nee wasn't sleeping with her sister and Muse was divided. The sadistic side she never knew existed was starting to surface. She hadn't formally been introduced to all of Muse yet. "Wait till they get a load of me."

* * *

"Nicocchi! Not that I'm not happy you visited but weren't you girls having a meeting? It wouldn't have ended this early would it?" The shrine wasn't busy today so the shrine maiden was lazing about or as she called it, ' _collecting spiritual power'._ Quickly and subtly, she collected herself to present her usual image of the ' _I know something you don't'_ kind of girl. Didn't really work here since that image was burst with Eli's revelation into her denseness, not that she knew.

Nico simply snorted at the display and waved. "Oh they're still at it. It was getting dumb so I left early." The woman chuckled fondly. "Should I be worried?" Nico grimaced but made sure she didn't see it. "Just kidding. Eli, Umi and Maki are there after all. I'm sure they'll keep things from getting out of hand."

Nico almost laughed at that. "You'd be surprised. Anyhoo. Mom's a bit under the weather so I could use an extra hand around the apartment. Up for it?" She asked and immediately cursed herself when she saw the easy going smile vanish off the shrine maiden's face. _She picked up on it. I never ask for help. She knows something's wrong._

But thankfully she didn't bring it up, simply agreeing to help. Nico wasn't fooled. They joked around like usual on the way home but she could tell that Nozomi was thinking about it.

_Damnit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little serious here but don't expect too much drama. I'm no good at that. Whether I'm good at comedy is up to y'all too!


	3. Chapter 3: Must be something in the water...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The purple haired shrine maiden dies, leaving her red headed daughter in the hands of her blonde lover not knowing that the disease plaguing insanity has infected her as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took waay too long and the pay off isn't the best either. Forgive me.

 

Some days Nozomi hated being so spiritual.

It was a blasphemous thought and she was sure that she'd sweep the shrine extra hard today in penance but it was true.

No one but her closest family, her girlfriend and Nicocchi knew it but the shrine maiden was extremely lazy. Not when it counts, like where Muse was concerned but she slept in class, snuck in naps during stuco meetings and generally lazed about all day in her apartment when she was done with her chores.

Of course, this meant that getting up was a real… pain, pardon her almost French. This tendency directly conflicts with her duties as shrine maiden.

But she didn't become borderline psychic without some sacrifice so Nozomi dragged herself out of bed and mechanically she went about readying for the day.

This automatic movement meant she could assign far more concerning things to conscious thought. Like Nicocchi's behavior.

It was obvious that whatever that worried the shorter girl was in regards to Nozomi herself, and it also involved all of muse. Eli and Maki's presence not reassuring Nicocchi meant that they were wrapped up in it too.

That was most concerning indeed.

Perhaps it has something to do with her relationship with Elicchi. It was one of the few things Maki was vocal about with her and if anything could get the redhead going it was-

_BANG._

Functioning on auto pilot and still groggy from sleep, Nozomi wasn't paying enough attention and now her toes paid for it, hitting the bathroom door on the way out.

Any train of thought she had crashed and burned in the white hot flames of pain as she curled up in a ball on the floor.

"Nineteen years… was a good run. I'm sorry, Elicchi… This is it for me. It was... fun... while it lasted... Take good care of Maki for me. Goodbye cruel world."

* * *

Nozomi was a lazy ass and didn't like the mornings very much but Nico not being a morning person is like saying Hanayo likes rice. An almost criminal understatement.

She put up a façade for her siblings but the general public wasn't that lucky.

Anyone who looked her way was treated to the unsettling sight of a little girl scowling at them with very not innocent red eyes that almost glowed with promise of pain. Any precocious child wanting to talk to her would go home learning some interesting words that would get them in trouble with their parents.

If the morning had a neck, Nico would have had blood on her hands by the time she had hit puberty.

But as a professional idol in training, she needed to get to training. She was already part of an idol training program that wasn't starting for a while but Nico has way too many disadvantages over full bodied, naturally charming girls to slack off.

Today, however, she had someone to check on before getting to it.

Turning at the corner that lead to Nozomi's shrine, Nico groaned as she spotted one of those same full bodied, naturally charming women who had hit the genetic jackpot by being a tall buxom blonde in addition to being an exotic foreigner.

A woman like Nico who had to fight nature day and night to look her best would have been offended by Eli's very existence if it wasn't for the fact that she was so painfully awkward Nico often got embarrassed _for_ her.

The woman stood at the shrine entrance, completely ignorant of the stares she got, content with just taking in the morning.

That was another thing she should hate the woman for. While Nozomi and Nico herself fought tooth and nail to get out of bed, Eli took to the morning like it was her natural habitat. Perhaps it came with being afraid of the dark but the woman reveled in the morning sun.

"Mega Milk not here?" Nico opened with a grumble, she didn't want to have gone through all this trouble so early in the morning for nothing.

"Nozomi tells me that she has died this morning, so she can't come today. Stubbed toe. A slow painful death, she says." Eli explains with obvious affection. Ugh. Disgusting. "Told me to take care of Maki for her." She continues with a frown and _that_ makes Nico laugh.

"You laugh but you have no idea what she's doing. She's crawling the streets profiling men like some kind of sexual deviant. When she spots me noticing her she doesn't even have the courtesy to look away. She just stares me down like _I'm_ the criminal." The blonde shivers at the memory.

Nico smiles smugly. "And is your group any better? Team 'it's always the quiet ones'?" Eli looks away blushing at some of the two underclassmen's ideas. Pure attribute my butt.

"Yeah. You were right. Going to the girls for help was a mistake." The smug smile grows. "Y'know. Since you're so smart, what would you tell me to do in my situation?"

Nico actually thinks on this for a second. Anything to stop the madness.

"Just go on as you do until it comes up. Nozomi is a pervert after all. She'll bring it up herself if you can't. So just do your thing. Go on dates. Buy her stuff. Whimper at her feet. The usual."

Unfortunately, Eli was struck with inspiration from her suggestion. "Buy her stuff? Like Jewelry?"

"Uh. I guess? That's a bit on the pricey side but-"

"Like a ring?"

"NO. No rings! I mean like a necklace or an earring or something."

"An engagement ring?"

"How are you getting that from what I'm saying?! Don't effin' marry her!"

"I should ask her to marry me!"

"WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!"

But it was too late. The taller girl's eyes had glazed over with a manic sheen. Nothing would get through to her now. And it was technically Nico's fault.

"This is perfect! If we get married, we'd have to have sex! It's practically a must! A wifely duty!"

"You're gonna marry your high school sweetheart straight outta school to get some?!"

"No! We've been together for like, four years. That's long enough. We're definitely in it for the long haul. This is the next logical step. We're at a legal age for it. Japan will make this hard but I can make it work. I can make this work! I'm gonna marry Nozomi!"

Oh god. She's started planning and rationalizing. Rationalizing as much as a sexually frustrated lunatic could. I mean really, the Japanese legal stance on same sex marriages is only a minor inconvenience in her way to having sex.

Letting out a happy squeal, Eli grabs at Nico's hands which were trying to go for her phone. Crud, she can't call the hospital on her like this. She can't run the hell away from the crazy blonde with her crazy person strength keeping her small frame in place.

"Thank you, Nico! You saved me! You're definitely my bridesmaid for the wedding you helped create!"

And with that she ran off full tilt towards the closest jeweler store.

"NO! DON'T IMPLICATE ME IN YOUR STUPID SCHEMES!"

Holy crap. This was bad. Terrible. Horrible. No good. Very bad.

_"Get the F* k back here!"_ Nico howled and ran after her, adding 'chase and take down blonde amazon' to her training regimen.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I really do hate this chapter. But my attempts at reworking it only made it worse. So the result was Eli succumbing to whatever insanity that was plaguing Otonokizaka. Looking at it now, I feel like I could easily turn this into a psychological horror fic with Nico as the main character and Nozomi as the supporting female.
> 
> Of course I'm not gonna do that...
> 
> ...Or am I?
> 
> Anyway, up next is Rin. 
> 
> Unless y'all have suggestions? Lemme know. Your input can make these come out faster. 
> 
> Don't hesitate to rip into me if this isn't up to standard.


	4. The Nico Nico Rebellion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The formerly passive members of the Resistance group up for an organized strike against the two Empires. They are also approached by a mysterious stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life got in the way again but really that wasn't the only reason. But I got this out anyway so I hope it's worth the wait!

 

Swiftly and _stealthily_ , or at least as stealthily as she could at eight o'clock in the morning in a brightly lit, generously staffed abode, Umi made her escape from the Nishikino Mansion safely.

Maki had them out scouting all day yesterday and the entire night was spent profiling the potential candidates, so they ended up staying the night. Umi didn't really mind that part as she'd always wanted to live in luxury, if only for a night. Maybe she should thank Honoka instead of cursing her for delaying progress.

She called it escape but really no one spared her a second glance. Honoka was still asleep and today being a weekend and Muse training sessions no longer being a thing, she was sure stay that way till at least noon. Worryingly enough, Maki was already gone. Perhaps Umi should simply count her blessings and just be glad that whatever she had planned for today, she didn't need her improvised goon squad.

Carrying her satisfyingly large bag of leftovers that the Nishikino maids forced on her Umi continued her _stealthy_ retreat in order to meet with her only chance of rescue before she was met with any-

**_Bang_ **

-resistance.

Putting her all into protecting the leftovers, Umi muttered several apologies at the strange cosplayer girl she ran into, collected herself quickly and ran. Rin should be making her morning run near her home in a few minutes and she needed to regroup with her and Nico in order to stop being passive and actively stop this madness.

But really, who cosplays in broad daylight around here anyway? In full gothic Lolita no less.

"What a weird girl." She mutters and continues her _stealthy_ getaway.

* * *

 

" _Ouch_. You'd think a fallen angel in broad daylight would be something you can't miss. What a weird girl."

"You aren't one to talk, _zura_."

"You're pretty strange yourself, Zuramaru."

"Shut up, _zura_."

* * *

 

"Stop laughing, you brat. It's not funny! She's really fast! Have you seen how tall she? Biology dictates she's inherently _supposed_ to be faster!"

"That's not true, _nya_! She's taller than me too and I'm still faster."

Ever since Nico started running with her as part of her personal idol training, Rin's morning runs have been that much more fun. Ever since Muse disbanded, Rin had to take up running in the morning to shave off all the excess energy she had that she used during idol training back when they were still together. The Track Team was fun but they just didn't have the same bond, what with the hierarchy thing still in play that Eli abolished back in Muse.

"It's all about technique, _nya_. I'll show you."

"Later. Umi's here."

Sure enough, with a better running technique than Nico, Umi was moving swiftly and _stealthily_ towards them with a bag of groceries in hand.

"Lunch! Umi! I'm so glad to see you!" Rin met her halfway, eagerly taking the bag of rolls Umi fondly passed her. She liked feeding the stray cats on the street whenever she could. "So I rank lower than lunch to you, Rin?"

"Nico-chan is already here, _nya_. Just like you asked."

Umi's smile dropped a little. "Rin. Why aren't you answering me, Rin?"

"Anything for me in there? Rin runs for hours and I'm not as young as I used to be."

"You've always been old, _nya_."

"Rin. Do I really rank lower than lunch to you?"

"Give up, Umi. Desperation doesn't suit you."

"It suits Nico-chan really well though, _nya_."

"What's Nozomi teaching you, you damned brat?"

"Does Lily White camaraderie mean nothing to you, Rin?"

"I don't know what that means, _nya_."

 The oldest of the trio sighs and grabs the bag of food off Umi and takes the fanciest thing in there. "All right, shaddup. So I can assume by you asking for this meeting in the first place that you realize how insane this situation has gotten?"

The spoonful of what she assumes is what everyone calls caviar was as appetizing as it looks and she immediately spits it out, shoving the container over to Umi and grabbing a simple burger from the bag.

"Indeed. Maki is steadily adding more felonies to not only her record but Honoka's and more _importantly_ , mine. She _wire tapped_ someone yesterday. He was the perfect candidate but she found out that he kept some kind of _torture dungeon_ in his basement. We promptly called the police anonymously and got some strange criminal arrested but what she's doing is still _illegal_! I don't want to be implicated as an accomplice!"

Umi took the caviar and ate it with gusto. She didn't really like it, in fact it was almost disgusting to her. But it was super expensive stuff and she wasn't likely to get the chance to eat it again so she savored every bite, gross as it was.

"Kayo-chin is starting to scare me too. _All_ she talks about is weddings now, it makes me feel like she wants me to propose, _nya_. Kotori-chan won't shut up about it either, nya. Should I propose to her too?"

She really wanted the caviar but Umi really looked like she wanted it so Rin settled for the Lobster Truffle Pasta. Caviar wasn't exactly Ramen but it's a close second in her opinion. Not like Maki would have Ramen at her place anyway.

"Right. So it's agreed. We stop them. I think we can easily get Honk onto our side but that doesn't make Maki any less effective." Umi scoffed. "I think Honoka will do more good for us while she's on Maki's side." Nico agreed. "Alright. But Hanayo and Kotori are a problem. And Eli is looking like a lost cause at this point."

"Mmm… I wouldn't say that just yet…" A voice cuts in from behind and suddenly Umi is starting to look very nervous. "Yeah? And you are?" Nico replies, unimpressed with being interrupted.

Alisa Ayase grins widely and Umi wonders if she was better off with Maki.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I made a mistake by promising Rin cause I realized that, with just Rin alone, I have absolutely no clue how to write her. I struggled like hell until eventually I gave up and wrote it in another angle. I slaved over Rin's p.o.v for like weeks and this came out in like 2 hours after I abandoned it.
> 
> Sorry I took so long.
> 
> Anyway. I'm having a lot of fun with Umi. I share a lot of her opinions in this fic even though she isn't exactly my favourite character in canon. And when playing off other characters, Rin was fun to write too!
> 
> Cameos!
> 
> Anyway I wasn't kidding about the two hours so if it looks like a rush job, that's cause it is. I'll do better next time. 
> 
> Probably.
> 
> Stealthily.


	5. A New Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The curse is breaking. People are finally breaking free of the madness. Is Nico's Revolution ultimately useless? Story of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuses for how late this was but hey, longest chapter yet! Hope you like it all the same!

Hanayo, by default, was a girl filled to the brim of her voluminous stature with insecurities and with age has only grown to accept that fact even despite  _Muse_ 's best efforts. But mostly, her two primary insecurities would be her weight, which in her opinion was always two sizes above acceptable and her irrelevance which she coped with by hanging around with, again in her opinion, a much more diverse cast of characters. Besides the whole  _being an idol_  thing, this was her primary motivator to be in  _Muse_.

Rin never had any standards to begin with, what with her addiction to  _ramen_  of all things so her affirmations of her Kayo-chin's greatness did little to dispel her self-loathing but it felt nice to be liked so she stuck to her interesting character design like glue. Hanayo had been trying to gain more independence rececntly and mostly it was successful, with her position as the idol club president but she always made certain to have Rin close by for if she felt too much like a background character and Maki if that failed.

But with recent interesting developments of Eli's dilemma, Hanayo found herself apart from  _both_  and paired with the only other person in  _Muse_  who didn't stand out quite enough to sate her self-worth.

Kotori was cute and had a nice interesting past and background and hair but Hanayo felt a camaraderie with her in that she never did much with it. Lately she'd been developing this strange obsessed vibe but now that Hanayo was feeling the self-loathing set in, that hastily made character trait did nothing.

_Why am I so concerned anyway? I'm just a mob character. I'm not meant to have thoughts._

At her side, completely unaware of the existential internal debate going on in her head, Kotori let out a high pitched squeal at a particularly ugly ring, fawning over its unique ugliness. The sudden display of cuteness and odd reason for it snapped Hanayo out of her stupor.

_NO! I love idols! I'm going to be an idol! I have a catchphrase!_

**Like a discount Nico Yazawa.**

Her brain supplied a retort but her mental affirmations were enough to keep the insecurity at bay.

_Maybe I should dye my hair and wear my uniform all weird._

"Ah! You two! I was looking for you guys."

Like a savior descended from the heavens, Eli was moving towards them in an uneven gait as she fought off a manic look in her eyes. For a moment, Hanayo felt the need to run and hide but if she truly wasn't a mob character, a true main character type girl like Eli wouldn't be able to kill her, so she held her ground. Grievously injured maybe but never dead. Not in a high school setting like this. Unless there was a genre change while she wasn't looking.

"Eli-chan! Have you found a good ring yet? What do you think about this one? Isn't it cute?" Kotori exclaimed, pointing at the ugly ring from earlier.

Hanayo didn't know what came over her but before she knew it she was grunting uncharacteristically. "No. It's ugly." A moment passes as she seemed to process what she said before she backpedaled. "I-I mean, er. It's very nice but I'm sure she's looking for something a little more… uhh… not… ugly. No, wait. Special! She's probably looking for something more special!"

_Somebody save me!_

But it was too late and Kotori looked a little disappointed but as any normal person would, accepted it and moved on as Hanayo clearly meant no harm and the look on Eli's exhausted face was blatantly in agreement.

Unless Kotori was faking and was filing it away under  _offences to be punished_  for future reference.

_Seriously. Somebody save me!_

"W-well… I mean I already found a ring. Well, at least I have one in mind. It's a family heirloom and everything." If it's older than two generations it's probably not that pretty since Eli wasn't exactly royalty but Hanayo kept that to herself. Eli looked uncomfortable for some reason. "Um. I mean I guess it looks pretty nice even if  _babushka_ only got it from her  _mama_ …" Oh dear. Guess she didn't really keep that to herself.

_I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I must-_

"But there's a catch." Eli mentioned and of course there was. Why would things be easy when it could be difficult?

"Of course. What can we do to help?" Hanayo asked, fully prepared to do whatever interesting tasks that lie ahead her.

"Well, unless you can undo generations of tradition and discrimination against homosexuality in Russia, I really don't see what you guys can do to help. Babushka has the ring and she's the Russianest Russian to ever Russia. I haven't exactly come out to her."

Oh. That was heavy. Must lighten mood.

"W-well, I mean… You could probably wait till she drops d-dead! You probably d-don't even have to wait very long! Haha!"

The moment after she said that Hanayo remembered the minute detail that Eli loved her grandmother a lot.

_Actually, don't save me. Just kill me now._

Kotori glanced at Hanayo with a trace of disappointment. "Hanayo-chan. Your character is all over the place. Please choose something and stick with it."

Eli on the other hand didn't even flinch. "That's exactly what  _mama_  said, though. They don't like each other very much. If they did, maybe  _mama_  would have the ring and I would be on my knee at Nozomi's right now. To be honest, after what she said about Nozomi, I'm not her biggest fan either."

"Well, Eli-chan, correct me if I'm wrong but Google tells me that Russians don't really use a ring to propose. Maybe you could propose and by the time of the actual wedding, you could change your grandma's mind."

"Or she could be dead." Hanayo adds needlessly and kicks herself for it.

"That's a really old fashioned thing but at this point that could be my best bet…"

Seeing how defeated Eli looked right now, Hanayo was hit with a sudden epiphany that temporarily washed away her personal identity issues and saw the entire situation with sudden unbiased clarity.

Nico's growing frustration. Maki's alienation. Eli's madness. Nozomi's isolation. Umi's fear. Pretty much everybody was affected by this situation that got completely out of hand very quickly. And looking back, all of what happened recently, even the parts Hanayo wasn't there for, just seemed so  _stupid._

But this has gone too far too quickly to just talk it out. Eli is too mentally vulnerable right now and it was best to let her rest a bit and Hanayo didn't really know what to do about Kotori. She couldn't quite get a read on her thoughts on all this. Better to fall back for now.

"T-then it's decided! You should go home and- and just sleep on it and think about it! A-and then we'll just um, choose what we do next… alright?" She managed to stutter all that out quite firmly and it was enough to convince the too tired to care Eli and the strangely pliant Kotori. Or was it characteristically pliant? It was hard to say these days.

But what now? She bought time but Hanayo didn't see how she could fix all of this. Maybe she should ask Rin-chan…

"Oh. Right."

Remembering something Rin-chan mentioned to her and Maki, who were too dumb to listen, Hanayo made a decision.

Dropping Rin-chan a text, Hanayo made her way to Nozomi's.

Rin-chan had forgotten to do it, but it was high time somebody talked to the central reason of all this about all this.

* * *

"Nishikino-san, you seem distracted. Is there somewhere you need to be?"

There wasn't, really. Unlike the inadvertently useless Honoka and the advertently useless Umi, Maki was all efficiency and had already managed to find and catalogue enough suitors so thoroughly that she'd almost singlehandedly cleaned up almost all male criminals under thirty in the city. She'd even received a medal for her efforts by the city council and was guaranteed a spot on the Japanese police force.

None of that mattered really 'cause she was now having a hard time actually going through with setting the ones who actually passed the decency test up with Nozomi.

She'd had a lot of time to think about it while the city paraded her around like a hero and she came to the shocking conclusion that maybe this whole get Nozomi away from Eli thing wasn't exactly in her best interests.

"Nishikino-san? About my lessons? Why are you staring into space like that? What's happening right now?"

When she was profiling all these men for Nozomi, Maki remembered something vitally important that she had forgotten in her excitement.

Men were  _effing_  gross.

Not just the ones she helped put behind bars but in general. There was a reason that a smart girl like Maki was gay and that was because besides her Papa and Santa, men were just downright repulsive.

She doesn't understand straight girls at all.

"Are you having a flashback or something? Internal monologue? Epiphany? Is this what it looks like from the outside?"

But that wasn't the end of it. In her haste to get Eli away from Nozomi, Maki lost sight of  _why_  she was doing that.

Not because she hated Eli, no. She was one of the only people in the world Maki cared about.

It was so Nozomi could have more free time for  _Maki._  If she was to get that needy blonde, Eleech off of her only to replace her with some repulsive  _man,_  would that really be any better?

On one hand she worked really hard on this project for a really long time, and on the other hand was a smelly  _man._

"Okay, so I left some sandwiches here for you. Which I had the time to make from scratch. You're sure taking your sweet time with this, so I guess we can continue the Piano lessons when you're done."

Perhaps this decision was easier than she was making it out to be. Eli was a pushover after all, if Maki makes it clear that  _her_  needs take precedence, she'll fold like tissue paper.

"That won't be necessary, Sakurauchi-san. Let us continue. Unless those sandwiches are…?"

"Tomatoes and bread. Just as you've asked. I left some condiments and a plate of actual sandwich ingredients on the side if you feel like eating like a normal- Or just eat them whole like an animal. Either way is fine."

She just had about twelve notebooks to burn when she got home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maki's personal views do not reflect my opinions in any way just so you know. I also don't hate Hanayo.
> 
> But to be perfectly honest, though I love every single Love Live character with everything I have (except Ruby but that's a topic for another time) I think Kotori and Hanayo are my least favorite out of Muse.
> 
> Not that I don't love them, I still squeal if get a Kotori or Hanayo SR regardless of usefulness. But they are still the least interesting, with Kotori being a greater offender of this than Hanayo despite arguably being a 'main' character. But they aren't flat characters. Hanayo is way more well rounded than most anime protagonists and Kotori had a good character arc in the Anime even if I don't like the resolution and a more substantial character in supplementary work. They are good characters. But still relative to the rest of the cast, just don't stand out enough.
> 
> tl;dr Despite what this chapter looks like, I love Hanayo and Kotori.
> 
> And I refuse to use that Rice Lover thing. It makes sense for her considering her Weight Woe, but really it's as pointless as Washi Washi which I loathe with a passion despite loving Nozomi more than any child I spawn in the future.
> 
> My Best Girl Cameos!
> 
> It's been a good ride but this story is finally on it's last legs. I can't believe I'll actually complete my first multi chap fic! I'm starting to feel bad for her so let's all root for Eleech, yeah?


	6. Finally.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end has come. Don't cry because it's over, smile because it was all according to keikaku*.  
> (*t/l note:- Keikaku means plan)

While Umi was the only one who actually met Alisa in person, just simply having blue eyes and blonde hair was enough to irritate Nico enough to make the connection that this was definitely an Ayase.

"Alisa Ayase. Muse's number one fan. Almost literally. I've been a fan since like, sis was still your enemy. And I'm here to tell you something reeeally important." Of course Nico would have been more inclined to believe it if it wasn't for Umi looking really awkward and trying to hide behind Rin and her general distrust towards Ayase's at the moment.

That and the fact the grin the younger girl was wearing was more like Nozomi's than she was comfortable.

"Meowsome." Rin commented but she could've been talking about the leftover steak Umi brought.

"Not  _meowsome_ , actually. It seems my sister has gotten a bit impatient about her current situation." The palpable laughter in her voice made it clear just how much of an understatement that was.

"So she got fed up and just decided to push Nozomi down?" Rin asked with a mouthful of a weird fish paste bun and an air of nonchalance, like she didn't just accuse one of her friends of sexually assaulting another.

"Psh. Yeah, right. Eli couldn't possibly push Nozomi down." Nico scoffed but Umi, who apparently didn't have any issues discussing this topic, seemed to think otherwise. "Eli is quite athletic. I don't see how a woman of Nozomi's stature could stop her." "Spoken like someone who's never been in that witch's death grip before."

"Can we not talk like my sister is some kind of sex offender?" Alisa pleaded but the other three were wholly unsympathetic. "I'm not certain about the specifics but she said something about a ticket to Russia and about it all being your idea,  _Yazawa-san_." She lied smoothly.

Ignoring Umi's pointed stare, Nico audibly groaned and simply gave up refuting her fault in all of this. " _Ah._ "

"Yes.  _Ah_. Perhaps you could go sort that mess out? I doubt I could do much." Alisa pleaded but Nico was already moving, Rin right behind her.

"Time to show me that running technique of yours, Rin." "Yeeees!"

Umi moved to follow even though she really would rather not but Alisa had moved to stop her. "I think those two can handle it. You've been through enough already."

She was uncomfortably close for someone as reserved as Umi but she had to agree. She's been through enough.

"Yes. You deserve a  _reward_."

Yes. A reward sounded good. There was a new bow on sale at the sporting goods store that she'd been itching to get her hands on since she no longer had access to school equipment but was too much of an expense for a luxury. Perhaps after recent events, she deserved such a luxury.

"I can think of a few ways to  _reward_  you…" Alisa winked at her suggestively.

But Umi selectively ignored it. "No need to trouble yourself. I already have something in mind."

Brushing past the indignant blonde, she made her way to her new destiny.

* * *

For the fifth time, Hanayo's finger hovered over the ringer to Nozomi's apartment before falling back to her side. Cursing her weakness, she went for it once more but chickened out last second again. As it turns out, resolving to ask someone about their sex lives, and actually following through with those resolutions were completely separate matters.

Once again, Hanayo broke away from her staring contest with the door to the two thousand word report she had written on her phone that she intended to give Nozomi in lieu of an actual explanation.

Proof reading the whole thing again, Hanayo considered simply mailing the thing, this was far too embarrassing to do in person.

But before she could actually follow through with not following through, the voice that Hanayo associated with affection over her own mother's rang out behind her with a resounding, "Kayochin!". Immediately following it was a voice Hanayo associated with both camaraderie and intense sourness, gasping out a tired, "Wai-wait wait waiddup, Rin. Slow yer butt down…"

Turning to face them, Hanayo was faced with the all too familiar sight of a Rin brimming with energy and a Nico glaring at her while trying her hardest to keep up. "Technique my butt… That did jack all." Nico growled out after catching her breath. "You're tired, sure. But you kept up with me! I'd say that's improvement, nya!" Rin rebutted.

Nico seemed to be too lightheaded to argue so Hanayo cut in. "Er. What are you guys doing here? I thought you were meeting up with Umi for something." Not that she wasn't grateful for their presence. With these two it might be easier to- no, wait. She couldn't possibly talk about sex in front of even more people. Especially Rin. The girl never got Nozomi's innuendos and Hanayo and she wasn't about to explain anytime soon. Plans are postponed. Thank god.

"Well I saw your text and then Nico said we were coming here." Suddenly realizing she didn't know  _why_  they were here, she turned quizzically to her shorter partner. "Why? I thought we were gonna stop Eli."

_Stop Eli?_  Like that didn't sound ominous.

"Like we could. I'm done. Hanayo has the right idea. Just tell Nozomi and she'll put a stop to it."

To Hanayo's relief, Nico just shuffled past her and barged into Nozomi's apartment.

"Tits! We got bad news for you! Eli went AWOL and I tried to stop…" Nico trailed off as she entered the dining room to find Nozomi across a happy Honoka stuffing her face with cake that she probably brought in herself.

Despite her smile, Nozomi did  _not_  look happy.

"No, no. Don't stop there,  _Nicocchi_. Honoka just finished telling me a most  _interesting_ story about Elicchi breaking down and all of you having fun with it. And I'm in the mood for another story.  _Let's hear it._ "

Hanayo, who heard everything from the living room decided to silently back away from all this with Rin and let Nico handle Nozomi's ire but somehow, Nozomi was already at the door.

"Don't leave just yet, _Hanayo_. I've heard you have something to share too." She put a hand on Hanayo's shoulder that left no room for argument and turned to a slightly unnerved Rin, who had been at the door the whole time but didn't see Nozomi appear.

Nozomi's smile turned a little more genuine. "Rin, you're welcome to the cake if you can get Honoka to share."

* * *

Eli had not even left the bed since morning. She'd headed straight for the jewelry store yesterday but even though she left Nico in the dust Reality caught up to her pretty quickly.

When she first made the decision to, marrying Nozomi seemed like the best possible choice but now that Eli had calmed down a bit it didn't seem like it was happening anymore. Not that it wasn't still the best idea she's ever had, she wasn't that sane just yet, but she was starting to see the complications in even proposing.

As a freshly graduated  _ronin_ , she had no job or any promise of a job and had no money to actually support herself. Then there was the fact that Nozomi was a beautiful girl and Eli was also a girl. It wasn't much of a problem among their immediate family and friends but being gay was still tough. Marriage was even tougher. Especially in Japan.

Then of course there was her  _babushka_.

She was an amazing woman and a huge pillar in Eli's life. She guided her through her ballet career and through her depression when that failed. She was extremely present in Eli's life and they still spoke every week. But as great as she was, there was a huge issue that Eli still hadn't quite found a solution too for over a year now.

Her grandma is extremely Russian.

"Not so easy talking to ol'  _grandma_  now, is it?"

Eli loved her mother, she really did. And she was very grateful that her mother fully supported her relationship with Nozomi and her subsequent decision to marry her. "Yeah, alright." She had said when Eli expressed her desire.

But she wasn't any help beyond that.

"But I'm not spotting you the cash for a ring." She continued and Eli was starting to see the flaws in her previously flawless plan. "Mama has a ring though. It's a Russian wedding ring passed down the Ayase line for generations!"

"Mama." Eli interrupted apprehensively. "Ayase was grandpa's last name and he was Japanese."

"The Bogomolova line then. I just hate that name. Bogomolova. Thank goodness Dad married that old bat. Imagine what kind of ugly ass surname I might've gotten if I was a hundred percent Russian. Like Balakhnicheva. Ick." Eli was outraged. That was an insult to Natalia Balakhnicheva. Eli's favorite ballerina.

"Anyway, good luck getting that ring off that rotten old witch. Never gave it  _me_  and I married a  _man_." She said man like it was a crime to be male, maybe that was why she was so supportive of Eli's sexuality. And weirdly envious. Eli didn't like having Nozomi over when her mother was around very much. It also explained why her father was away all the time.

"Lives up to her name. Bogomolova. Ugh. Dodged a bullet…"

Bogomol. Pious.  _Babushka_  was definitely that.

Eli remembered that horrible day when she finally introduced her to Nozomi.

She was so excited to have them meet, two of the most important people in her life. But Nozomi and her mother were strangely apprehensive about introducing her as her girlfriend. Well, strange for Nozomi. It was no secret that mama hated  _b_ _abushka_.

She relented and the introductions were only slightly awkward but Nozomi was as gay as ever and the moment that became clear,  _babushka_  became strangely stiff. "Anymore stiff and she'd be a corpse. Just saying it is making me happy. Mama is a corpse. She's finally a corpse." Her mother was both morbid and drunk that night.

Eli didn't understand until  _b_ _abushka_  pulled her aside when Nozomi went home and asked her seriously. "Did you know that the Nozomi girl was a dyke?"

It was like the carpet was pulled out from under her. Eli's world had shattered a tiny bit and a  _b_ _abushka_  shaped piece had fallen off.

Her grandmother misinterpreted her shock and patted her shoulder in sympathy that Eli no longer wanted. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this, but better this way than if she tried something with you."

Thankfully her mother interrupted before her  _b_ _abushka_  could notice Eli's tears. "Oi. Your coffin is ready upstairs. Be sure to actually  _die_  in it this time." The older woman scoffed, used to the verbal abuse from her own daughter. "With the way you live? I'm going to outlive you by a century. Though your food actually came close to doing me in." "Aw, dear mother. You should've had seconds."

When the oldest Ayase had left them both for bed, Eli's mother held her for the first time in a while and gave what she considered comfort. "I'm sorry, Eli. I can't do anything about her. She keeps her door locked at night."

Today, she gave her same brand of warped comfort. "Sorry about your bigot of a grandma, Eli. Wanna count the days on calendar until she finally kicks the bucket? It kind of helps but in my experience after you reach two dozen calendars you kind of start to lose hope."

"Go away, mom" Eli didn't have the strength to deal with her mom right now. "Nah. I like being around people more miserable than myself."

Before Eli could contemplate if she was evil enough to tell her mom she was going to end up like her grandmother, Alisa called out from downstairs.

" _SIIIIIIISSSS! NOZOMI IS HERE TO SEE YOU!"_

"Oh god, she knows. And she's creeped out and she's come to break up with me." Eli sank deeper into her sheets, trying to disappear. "Then I hope she still comes around. I like that girl." Her mother added helpfully.

" _SIIIIS! SHE'S COMING UP TO SEE YOU!"_

"I love that girl to death but she's got an annoyingly large set of lungs." Her mother sighed as she got off Eli's bed but paused at Eli's door.

"Hey, Eli. I love you to death too, alright?" She mumbled but left before she could see Eli's smile.

But that smile disappeared as she heard her mother from the hallway.

"Well if it isn't Nozomi! I know Eli's a mess but if blonde part Russians are your type, I'm totally available."

"I couldn't possibly do that to your husband, but I'll keep that in mind, thank you."

Eli's rage was snuffed out as she saw her doorknob turn and she immediately threw the sheets over her head.

Nozomi chuckled as she watched the Eli shaped lump on her bed. "Oh my, Eli seems to have disappeared."

Taking a seat next to her bed, Nozomi watched fondly as Eli tried her best to be as still as possible. "I wonder where she could've gone." She teased but Eli's sad groan made her stop.

Laying hand over where Eli's arm would be, Nozomi decided to just go for it.

"I'm sorry. For everything."

The sheet lowered but Eli didn't say anything, her clueless, nervous look said everything for her.

"For not noticing how you felt. For not noticing your stress. For not noticing how everyone was acting. I'm so  _so_  sorry."

Eli tried to say something, communicate how she was not at fault at  _all_  but the hand on her arm silenced her.

"I guess… I was so happy with how things were. How things seemed to be, that I didn't want things to change so bad that I didn't notice when they did. I was so blissfully oblivious…"

"You… don't want things to change?"

"I-I didn't. I guess I hated moving around so much… I always thought of change as a bad thing. And when I met muse and fell in love with you… I wanted us to be together forever… I didn't want that to change…"

"Nozomi…"

"But I was wrong. Change isn't always a bad thing. It can be amazing. It was amazing when we changed from friends to girlfriends… and I'm sure it'll be even better when we move beyond that. And I think I might be ready for it…"

Eli felt Nozomi's lips on hers but before she could do anything about it, she'd already moved away. "…In due time. I honestly haven't thought about… sex. So if you can give me more time, I would be grateful."

"O-of course!" Eli was feeling a bit overwhelmed too. A little more time to sort things out would be best.

"Now that I've apologized for not noticing… I think you owe me an apology for not  _saying_ anything!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was rushed but I didn't want this to be an abandoned story. Hope it's good enough for anyone who stuck around for this trainwreck

**Author's Note:**

> The usually perceptive Nozomi being oblivious is something I've been thinking about a lot lately so this was born.


End file.
